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After a decade, I decided to rewatch both Black and RX. More than halfway through Black right now, here are my impressions:

Pros
- The music for both shows is certainly one of their strong points. The ending themes for both are among the best of the franchise. "Long Long Ago 20th Century" is a lament for the peaceful days long gone, and "Someone Loves You" is a good rebuttal that bring back optimism. I just finished reading "The World of Yesterday" by Stefan Zweig, where he talked about how the Europe he knew and loved was destroyed by both world wars and was left without a country: knowing how Black's final episodes go by memory, I think I doubly appreciate it when I watch them this time around.

Some of Black's songs though are a bit awkward, either due to the tune itself or Tetsuo Kurata's singing. Takayuki Miyauchi's songs for RX are almost all great.

- The creepiness of Golgom is great to see, something modern Rider really could use more of. (The Greeds, Horoscopes and Phantoms being the biggest disappointments in the post-Decade era.) I especially like how you can see the eyes of some mutants' suit actors. It makes them more monstrous and freakish.

- Black's suit is a leathery exoskeleton with brown fleshy parts beneath. That makes it look more "organic" than the previous Showa Riders. I get the impression that beneath the black armoring is that grasshopper monster Kotaro transforms into briefly in the first episode. The RX suits aren't bad, but I do wish they showed some of that fleshy interior as well; they're a bit too refined.

Cons
- The 'search for Nobuhiko' plot is largely dropped to the wayside. Most of the show up to this point is just Kotaro's adventures as Black, with Shadow Moon given barely a mention. I think the show could've taken a page from Zubat, with Kotaro continuously searching for clues as to his brother's location, questioning Golgom monsters and other members, with episodes teasing the chance of finding him only to be lead astray. That would've made the show more engaging.

- Birugenia is mostly a wasted idea. The Century King has him released from his prison to kill Kotaro, but he too is reduced to a nonentity soon after appearing. He'll just laugh at the Priests, attack Kotaro and then quickly retreat again, accomplishing little. We know he tried to rebel millennia ago for not being given a Kingstone. More should've been done with that. Maybe show him going amongst the Golgom monsters and other members trying to win their support for another cue behind the Priests' backs, telling them that their leaders have failed and he will bring them glory. Have him toy with Kotaro over Nobuhiko's whereabouts to break him, and plotting to steal his Kingstone before the Priests can get it. Just make him do more.

- I don't dislike the Shadow Moon suit, but it's very metallic compared to Black's and his eyes are smaller. I'm not sure if that's because he's more "complete" than Black, but it looks like too much a contrast. But what bugs me the most is why doesn't he have the Golgom symbol on his chest the way Black does? It makes no sense for that to be so.
 
D

Dr Kain

Guest
Black's suit is organic so it makes sense for Shadow Moon to be robotic. Just look at the bikes. Battle Hopper is more organic while Road Sector is completely a machine.

I love Birugenia and wish Bandai would get that stick out of their ass and make a Figuart of him, but I do agree that he does become a normal villain.

Black could have been the greatest Kamen Rider series of all time had it not been so episodic and fillerish. Hell, it takes 34 episodes for Shadow Moon to appear and while he kicks all kinds of ass, he pretty much just stand there in the background with the wallpaper girls and sends a monster down for several episodes instead of doing anything. I don't get why they chose to do that. Everything in the beginning makes it feel like it is going to be one continuous storyline like Blade is over an episodic one. Due to that though, it ends up being my second or third favorite Kamen Rider series (probably second).

Thankfully, the show has a lot going for it. Kotaro is such an awesome rider and he does everything on his own without having another rider help him along the way. Of course, the downside is that he really has no one to play off of to really develop him, so he comes across as being the same person at the end of the show as he was in the beginning. The music definitely rocks, especially the one song used in the second half of the show. The Gorgom Priests are as generic as the can be in the first half of the show, so it was nice to see Shadow Moon actually do something with them. Too bad he couldn't do the same for Kara and Mara, who are utterly pointless and appear to be there for nothing more than fanservice. Another great aspect is in the monster designs as they are by far the best looking Kaijin of any Kamen Rider series.
 
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I agree with your critics on Birugenia, but I actually like Shadowmoon suit a lot.

As an additional critic, I have serious problem with how Black ended. It didn't make any sense to me. As an additional pro, I kinda like the opening song. Tetsuo Kurata doesn't sound that bad to me.

(haven't watched RX yet)
 
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I unequivocally love Kamen Rider Black. I suppose it helps I was watching it just as I was getting into fansubbed tokusatsu shows, but it just feels like such an exciting turn for the franchise. It's full of so much unbridled energy, from its camera work to its solid effects to its outstanding soundtrack. Tetsuo Kurata isn't the best actor in the world, but he is so damned charismatic. He carries the show on his back with ease, it's easy to see why Toei did the unthinkable and brought him back for a second season. Shadow Moon is also a fantastic villain, and I agree with most people here that his suit is absolutely phenomenal. He looks like a more "complete" Kamen Rider Black.

I don't even particularly mind that the show is episodic through most of its run. It's just so much fun watching Kotaro deal with these crazy Golgom plots, and always guessing right that they're behind it even if there's no logical proof that they are. It's so simple through most of its run, but I think that's what helps the final arc stand out so much more. There should be a major shift later in the series when Shadow Moon is introduced because that's when **** gets real. The turmoil Kotaro goes through is classic Ishinomori, and I feel it's probably the only Showa series that fully captures that sense of heroic tragedy.

Black RX is definitely a much lighter series and it's not nearly as well balanced as its predecessor. I think this show's main problem is that it doesn't have the same stakes, so it comes off as a little boring. Plus, the main cast isn't quite as likable. The show does have several highlights (the arc where Kotaro first transforms into Bio Rider and Robo Rider is entertaining as hell), but it doesn't have the same fresh feeling that Black did (even though RX did a lot of new things, it felt more inspired by Metal Heroes than anything). The ending is okay, but again doesn't quite have the same impact as Black (although a few characters do meet a strangely grim end). It's a fun series overall, but kinda generic of everything else Toei was producing at the time.
 
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Black's suit is organic so it makes sense for Shadow Moon to be robotic. Just look at the bikes. Battle Hopper is more organic while Road Sector is completely a machine.

But Road Sector was meant for Golgom's regular soldiers. Kotaro just happened to acquire it. Battle Hopper was to go to either Black Sun or Shadow Moon, as the latter demonstrates by stealing it later on.

Some more points:

- The Shonen Soldiers are a lousy idea, but the two episodes thus far that feature them have been quite fun. The bus fight is the best part of episode 31. Instead of kids who’re drugged to never grow up, it would’ve been cooler had they been real adults who were abducted and held by Golgom for years before escaping.

- I like the idea that all of these prominent people in government, business, the arts, etc are secretly members of cults/secret societies like Golgom that are obsessed with bringing down the world. (It’s too bad the ones we see are written out of the show so soon). I have to wonder how much Shotaro Ishimori knew about terrorist groups, the occult, “New World Order†organizations, and so-called conspiracy theories. Practically all of his superhero media dabble in these topics that I don’t know if it was just popular topics in the 70s and 80s. Maybe he was writing his views of them through fiction.
 
Mad Skillz
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I have to wonder how much Shotaro Ishimori knew about terrorist groups, the occult, “New World Order” organizations, and so-called conspiracy theories. Practically all of his superhero media dabble in these topics that I don’t know if it was just popular topics in the 70s and 80s. Maybe he was writing his views of them through fiction.

It's definitely this and a nod to the original Kamen Rider manga, which ends on a bitter note as Shocker is defeated but its soon realized that there are criminals everywhere in government controlling the world.
 
D

Dr Kain

Guest
But Road Sector was meant for Golgom's regular soldiers. Kotaro just happened to acquire it. Battle Hopper was to go to either Black Sun or Shadow Moon, as the latter demonstrates by stealing it later on.

They still compliment each other though.
 
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I've reached the final stretch of episodes for Black. The show certainly picks up once Shadow Moon appears, as things are now getting more intense and the danger is rising. But I think it still suffers from the faults of the first half that I mentioned before. There's one episode where Kotaro mentions Nobuhiko's great intellect and how he'll now use it to serve Golgom. Well that's nice, but why couldn't we have learned about this sooner? Kotaro and Nobuhiko are never really developed that much as characters beyond "they grew up together and now are destined to fight to the death". I think that sort of dampens the impact of what happens later. (Granted though, we do see Kotaro mature in a subtle way throughout the show, going from a carefree kid to someone with the world on his shoulders, caring for his family alone, so that's something at least.)

The time travel episode (41) kinda wasted the idea of Kotaro and Mamoru trying to prevent what had happened to them. More time is spent on the wacky feudal era soldiers and their antics. Speaking of Mamoru, the show become really kid-focused around the 20s. There's a kid of the week in almost every episode. I don't recall noticing it much in, say, Zyuranger, but here the change is hard to ignore.
 
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Dr Kain

Guest
Hey, at least they have far more development than Kara and Mara. What is their purpose again?
 
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